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Male to Female Sex Ratio at Birth (Term Singletons Only) by County, New Mexico, 2017-2021

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Male to Female Sex Ratio at Birth (Term Singletons Only) by County, New Mexico, 2017-2021

  • #This count or rate is statistically unstable (RSE >0.30), and may fluctuate widely across time periods due to random variation (chance). Please use caution in interpreting this value, or combine years, areas, or age groups to increase the population size.

Why Is This Important?

Population growth is, in part, related to the number of liveborn male infants. Information about sex ratio (SR) at birth is also helpful in understanding trends in infant morbidity, such as low birthweight and mortality, as male infants are more susceptible to illness and have higher infant mortality rates (CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, 2005). Although the mechanism that determines an infant's sex is not completely understood, there is evidence that some of the changes in SR are driven by altered sex hormone levels around the time of conception or during gestation. Several environmental exposures have been implicated as possible risk factors for skewed SRs. Exposure to endocrine disrupters (e.g., dioxins, PFAS, BPA, phthalates, and persistent organic pollutants) can result in a decrease in testosterone, and consequently, fewer males are conceived. Associations are more often found between paternal exposures and skewed SR than maternal exposures (CDC NEPHT Program, 2022). A study of 199 million birth records in the United States from 1968 to 2019 found that race/ethnicity had the strongest influence on sex ratio at birth. Asians had the highest SR, and Black and American Indian/Alaska Native had the lowest SR (Sanchez-Barricarte, 2023).

Definition

The ratio of total males to total females born in a pre-defined geographic area at a given time (one birth year or multiple years) is the sex ratio.

Data Source

Birth Certificate Data, Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS), Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health.
(https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/bvrhs/vrp/)

How the Measure is Calculated

  • Numerator:

    Total number of male infants born in a specified geographic area during a specified time period.

  • Denominator:

    Total number of female infants born in a specified geographic area during a specified time period.

Data Issues

Birth certificate information is submitted electronically by hospital medical records staff who use standard mother and facility worksheets and medical charts to collect the needed information. Training of hospital staff is provided by the Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS). The birth certificate information is reviewed by BVRHS for completeness and consistency with state law and NMDOH and national guidelines. BVRHS will contact hospital staff for clarification of missing, inconsistent or incorrect entries. CDC's National Center for Health Statistics provides feedback to BVRHS on data quality and the NMDOH provides feedback to the hospitals to improve data quality and training.

Health Topic Pages Related to: Birth Outcomes - Sex Ratio at Birth

Indicator Data Last Updated On 02/01/2023, Published on 05/23/2023
Environmental Health Epidemiology Bureau, Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health, 1190 S. Saint Francis Drive, Suite 1300, Santa Fe, NM 87505, Srikanth Paladugu, Bureau Chief, Srikanth.Paladugu@doh.nm.gov, or Chelsea Langer, Environmental Epidemiologist Supervisor, Chelsea.Langer@doh.nm.gov